‘The Orville’ (Fox, Sept. 10 at 8 p.m.)

The 1-Sentence Pitch: In some ways, says executive producer Brannon Braga, “It’s a workplace comedy set in space.” Dig a little deeper, though, and you find “it’s a dramedy set in space where humanity as a whole has achieved great things, but romantic relationships remain as familiar as ever.”

What to Expect: The presence of long-time Star Trek writer and producer Braga should clue you in as to the major influence of the show. Despite what the commercials would have you believe, The Orville is much more an homage to late ’80s/early ’90s Trek than it is a Galaxy Quest-type spoof. The show centers around the will they/won’t they romance of a now-divorced couple played by Seth MacFarlane and Adrianne Palicki.

Your Serial’s Getting Stale: Television has grown increasingly serialized over the years, but Orville is a throwback to a time when sci-fi was more episodic. “I personally missed this form of storytelling greatly,” admits Braga. In fact, “The TV show I most gravitated to in the past ten years is Black Mirror. It’s an hour-long story told in the absolute best way. I like a beginning, middle, and end.” — Robert Clarke-Chan

(Photo: Fox)

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